December 24, 2003

Serbian Orthodox Church Concerned With Situation in Kosovo and Metohija

Yesterday (Dec. 23) a special communiqué was issued from the meeting of the Council for Kosovo and Metohija of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church in which the Church hierarch expressed most serious concerns with the current situation in the southern Province of Serbia. The Council noted with regret that there is increasingly greater anti-Serb and anti-Orthodox activity on the part of the Roman Catholic Church in Kosovo and Metohija, through which Ibrahim Rugova is attempting to draw Pope John Paul II himself into his plans for the secession of Kosovo and Metohija, thus further complicating the already complex issue of Kosovo and Metohija". (COMMUNIQUE)

Instead of confession Rugova requests from the Pope anti-Serb alliance!
(photo: Mr. Rugova with the Pope amidst the scenes of destroyed Serbian Orthodox churches and desecrated Christian cemeteries in Kosovo)

EDITORIAL BY FR. SAVA JANJIC

Rugova woos to Vatican in order to hide Kosovo's bleak reality

ERP KiM Info-service
Gracanica, December 24, 2003

During his recent visit to the Vatican Kosovo (Albanian) President Ibrahim Rugova
requested support for Kosovo's independence from the Pope John Paul II. The attempt to draw Pope John Paul II himself into his plans for the secession of Kosovo and Metohija further complicates the already complex situation in the southern province of Serbia and seriously jeopardizes already fragile interreligious relations.

Although he has never publicly condemned destruction of more than 100 Serbian Orthodox churches in Kosovo after the end of armed conflict in 1999 and never visited any Orthodox church in the Province (in which, by the way, more than 90% of the cultural-historical heritage belongs to Serbian Orthodox tradition) Ibrahim Rugova persistently tries to involve the Roman Catholic Church in his political machinations. His trump card is the tiny Roman Catholic community in Kosovo led by Bishop Marko Sopi who under pressure of Moslem majority refused to participate in the R. Catholic Bishops' Conference of Serbia and Montenegro, to which Kosovo officially belonged, and requested his "diocese" to be under special jurisdiction of the Holy See. The Vatican, its appears, had no choice but to establish the so called Apostolic administrature for Kosovo, because, as R.Catholic Archbishop in Belgrade explained "the people needed pastoral care" until the political situation clears up. Some analysts saw this decision as a compromise with Albanian secessionism because the Vatican is known for caution in any kind of prejudicing the change of international borders. Bishop Sopi on the other hand seems to be too week (or unwilling perhaps) to resist to some of his "black hawks" led by Fr. Shan Zefi who is in close relations with ultra-nationalist Kosovo Albanian groups and parties. Some of Sopi's and Zefi's statements, loudly supported and spread by some Albanian political leaders and intellectuals, among which is Ibrahim Rugova, were the reason why Serbian Orthodox Bishop Artemije suspended his participation in the interreligious dialogue in Kosovo until further notice. At the moment the Vatican is trying through Msgr. Vincenzo Paglia (St. Eugidio) to mediate in the problem, but the tiny Roman Catholic community in Kosovo which is led by radicals seems to be too weak to articulate its free position and resist pressure of the Moslem majority and especially the former KLA circles dominated by Moslems: Hashim Thaci, Ramush Haradinaj and Mustafa Remi.

Despite the fact that Kosovo Albanians have already been criticized by many renown international organizations for protection of religious rights as a territory in which Christianity is under oppression, Mr. Rugova keeps ignoring continuation of anti-Christian campaign by his Moslem compatriots and tries to hide himself and his people behind moral authorities of the Pope and Mother Theresa. Erection of the monument to Mother Theresa at the same time when hundreds of Serb Christian monuments and graveyards are being turned into ashes shows at its best the ambivalent position of Kosovo Albanians towards Christian tradition in general. In fact, sudden wooing to the Roman Catholicism and attending of Catholic masses by crowds of young Moslem Albanians is seen by some more objective analysts as nothing but an attempt to present themselves as a part of the Western Civilization and secede from Serbia with the help of the Pope. However, the mentality is not so easily changed. Kosovo Albanians in their outward appearance can hardly be seen as fundamentalists but their culture, history and way of life bears the strong influence of Islam. Kosovo cities, houses surrounded by high walls and rural society in which women are discriminated have little in common with the rest of Europe and the Christian tradition, especially as long as more than 100 Serbian Christian shrines destroyed by Albanian extremists "cry to the heavens". In more than four years after the conflict Bishop Artemije could not reconstruct a single one of his destroyed shrines simply because they would be destroyed again.

These ruins speak much louder than pathetic photos of Ibrahim Rugova with the Pope. While repression against Orthodox Christians in Kosovo continues even the Roman Catholic Archbishop in Belgrade agreed that Kosovo Roman Catholics are endangered too. "Since the expectations and tendencies of the majority population (Albanian Moslems, ed.) are very different the Catholic community who always wanted to cooperate is under pressure", admitted Archbishop Hocevar in his Christmas interview to the Danas daily (see the interview down).

It is well known that the relations between Orthodox and R.Catholics in Kosovo used to be based on mutual tolerance and solidarity in the past, particularly during the Ottoman occupation when Christians in general were oppressed population and Albanian Moslems enjoyed all social and economic privileges. The things started to change in the second half of the 19th century when Albanian nationalists created a new formula: "Albanians is the religion of Albanians". Since then Kosovo R. Catholics regularly side with their Moslem compatriots against Christian Serbs and their Western allies in both World wars, as well as in the KLA insurrection in 1998-1999.

The right way to improve interreligious relations in Kosovo is definitely not in making any kind of Moslem-Catholic alliance against the Orthodox Church but to publicly recognize the religious and property rights of the Serbian Orthodox Church with its shrines and condemn all acts of religious vandalism and intolerance. Regrettably, Mr. Rugova and the part of the Roman Catholic clergy in Kosovo are doing exactly the opposite. As early as August 1995 Mr. Rugova publicly stated "that the monasteries and churches in Kosovo were Albanian and that the Serbs occupied them, destroying in the process a large number of Albanian churches" - a theory which is not based on a single historical proof. Serbian Orthodox Church strongly protested because such false theories became a part of historical curricula in the Kosovo Albanian schools. Roman Catholic Bishop Marko Sopi instead of taking a position of solidarity with the suffering Christians justified destruction of Serbian Orthodox churches calling them "political churches" in his interview to Caritas Vincenza in 2001, while his deputy Don Shan Zefi recently said that "below Orthodox churches lie the ruins of Albanian Catholic shrines". These aggressive statements only added more oil to the fire and were seen by Albanian Moslems as a "Catholic blessing" for them to continue the systematic destruction of Serbian Christian holy sites. The yesterday's meeting of the Council for Kosovo of the Serbian Synod of Bishops was, among other reasons, very much provoked by Rugova's recent visit to the Vatican and the very indecent behavior of the part of Roman Catholic clergy, including Sopi and Zefi.

In its yesterday's statement the Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church "noted with regret that there is increasingly greater anti-Serb and anti-Orthodox activity on the part of the Roman Catholic Church in Kosovo and Metohija, through which Ibrahim Rugova is attempting to draw Pope John Paul II himself into his plans for the secession of Kosovo and Metohija, thus further complicating the already complex issue of Kosovo and Metohija".

Although Serbian Orthodox Church and particularly its Diocese in Kosovo and Metohija in many of their statements publicly condemned damage made to mosques during the armed conflict between the Yugoslav security forces and the KLA in 1999, and were the first to initiate the dialogue after the war, Kosovo Albanian leaders and intellectuals still turn a blind eye to systematic destruction of centuries old Christian shrines which survived 5 centuries of Ottoman oppression. The churches are still attacked by grenades, many of them were looted while the Orthodox clergy and monastic communities continue living in ghettoes.

Christianity in Kosovo: St. Trinity Serb Orthodox Cathedral in Djakovica
demolished by Kosovo Albanians after the arrival of UN/KFOR Mission in Aug. 1999

"The Orthodox Church is always ready for the dialogue, but it has to be based on sincerity, mutual acceptance and respect for traditions of others - exactly that what we do not see  on the other side at the moment", said Bishop Artemije to the ERP KiM Info Service. "As long Roman Catholic Albanian clergy continue to deny even our most basic right to preserve our holy shrines and tradition no dialogue will be possible, I am afraid. Bishop Sopi is welcome only if he publicly denounces the incorrect statements which he and his associates uttered to the media", Bishop Artemije concluded.

"This is a test of sincerity for the Vatican", said one respected representative of the Patriarchate in Belgrade who wanted to stay anonymous. "If the Roman Catholics continue allowing to be manipulated by Kosovo Albanian secessionists, that would be a tragic mistake because the Orthodox holy sites in Kosovo are the corner stones of European Christian tradition and their extinction would open the door to radicalized Islamization of Europe. What fears us is the alliance between some radical Catholic clergy and Moslims on the expense of Orthodox Christian Serbs which existed in the Second World War in Kosovo and Bosnia under the Nazi flag. In any case this "unholy alliance", if it ever becomes a reality again, would not bring any good to Roman Catholics at the end either. We can see this in Bosnia today where they cope with Moslem fundamentalism and moujahedin who received Bosnian citizenship, although just few years ago Catholic Croats sided with Moslems against Serbs", concluded the representative of the Patriarchate.

Serbian Orthodox Church will continue its prayers and bearing witness of its suffering  hoping that the spirit of love and tolerance will prevail one day over the blind hatred and attempts to create an ethnically clean Albanian society in Kosovo on the ruins of centuries old Christian holy sites and blood of innocent civilians.

Destruction of Christianity under the UN aministration in Kosovo!
Serbian Orthodox Church concerned with continuation of
violation of human and religious rights in Kosovo (photo archive:
The Patriarch with Bishops attending a church ceremony)

Council for Kosovo and Metohija of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church


The Information Service of
the Serbian Orthodox Church
Belgrade, December 23, 2003

Communiqué from the meeting of the Council for Kosovo and Metohija
of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church

The Council for Kosovo and Metohija of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church, chaired by His Holiness the Serbian Patriarch Kyr Pavle, met on December 23/10 [according to the Gregorian and Julian calendars, respectively], 2003 in the Serbian Patriarchate in Belgrade, and deliberated the latest conditions in the southern Serbian Province. The Council ascertained that the state of life security, human rights, freedom of movement and work, Serb returns, protection of the Church and people's Holy Shrines and property has remained unchanged, regrettably in the negative sense, during these more than four years that Kosovo and Metohija has been under the administration of the International Community.

The Council shares the great concern of the Serb community and the Serbian Church in Kosovo and Metohija as a result of the imposition of UNMIK's standards for Kosovo and Metohija (without acceptance of the Serbian positions on those standards), which completely ignore [UN] Security Council 1244 and pave the way for the complete Albanization and secession of Kosovo and Metohija, thus opening a Pandora's box of further expansion of the ultranationalistic idea of a "Greater Albania" which, if realized in phases, would bring lasting instability and unavoidable conflicts throughout most of the Balkans and in Europe. The Serb side in Kosovo and Metohija is asking for clearly measurable and concretely verifiable achievements and a timetable for their implementation, not just for declarative "standards". This means, first and foremost, the effective realization of the return of expelled and displaced persons to Kosovo and Metohija comprising no less than two-thirds of the total. Furthermore, the Council demands respect for individual, human, national and property rights, the protection of the Church and people's, and cultural heritage of the Serbian people and the Republic of Serbia, the return of illegally usurped property, the re-examination of the speeded up process of privatization, etc.

The Council reminds that the Serbian Orthodox Church has published its "Memorandum on Kosovo and Metohija", a document humane, honorable and presented in Christian fashion on the real problem of Kosovo and Metohija. The "Memorandum" is supported by the Serb community in Kosovo and Metohija, the Republic of Serbia and the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, as well as by respected and wise individuals in Europe and the world.

The Council also reminds that the Republic of Serbia has presented its "Declaration on Kosovo and Metohija", which has been supported by the Serbian Church as well as by the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. The Joint Coordinating Center of Serbia-Montenegro and the Republic of Serbia led by Mr. Nebojsa Covic has just issued a Resolution on the Protection of Serbian National Interests and Rights of the Republic of Serbia in Kosovo and Metohija (consisting of seven points and dated December 17, 2003), which has received the support of the Diocese of Raska-Prizren and Kosovo-Metohija, and consequently also has the support of this Council.

For, as the Bishop of Raska-Prizren and Kosovo-Metohija Kyr Artemije stated:

"The Serb people in this region desire a free and dignified life but cannot accept, in exchange for Serbia's sovereignty, offers of abstract 'minority rights' in a society Kosovo Albanians are tailoring exclusively according to their needs and interests. The document 'Standards for Kosovo', which does not mention the sovereignty of Serbia and Montenegro and the essential elements of UN Security Council 1244, fundamentally prejudices the secession of the southern Serbian province and as such must be urgently revised in order to be acceptable for the Serbian side, too.

Archbishop Hocevar: "The Catholic Church there is in minority and amidst a very delicate political process. Since the expectations and tendencies of the majority population (Albanian Moslems, ed.) are very different the Catholic community who always wanted to cooperate is under pressure".